MANKATO, Minn. — Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman wants to hear the big guys under the basket shouting out directions when Minnesota is on defense.

The big guys in the starting lineup are Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Love.

They talk plenty in the locker room and on the team bus, Adelman says, so he can’t understand why they can’t be vocal when the Wolves are playing defense.

“Some guys aren’t the loudest guys in the world,” Love said after practice Tuesday at Minnesota State Mankato.

Love at 6 feet 10 and Pekovic at 6-11 are generally close to the basket on defense and see plays unfolding in front of them. Adelman says it’s imperative for them to be in charge of defensive communications.

Love won’t disagree.

“That’s just one of the things I need to get better at,” he said.

He insists that changing those habits should come easy.

“We both talk a lot off the court,” he said, “so we damn well better be able to talk on the court.”

Pekovic, who is from Montenegro, is the prototypical strong, silent type on the court. When he does speak up, Love noted, he has a thick enough accent to sometimes make him hard to understand.

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